Red, white and blue are the colors of Independence Day, and soon a newly erected flagpole at 315 University Ave. will, indeed, have a flag fluttering in the breeze. The flagpole was hoisted into place on June 30 at the red brick building that’s across the street from the University Avenue fire station.

“It’s been called the Castle for 90 years,” building owner John Fox said, “but we’re changing it back to the Perrin House and restoring it to its 1884 grandeur.”

Fox said the building was also once called the Honeymoon House because it was built for a “bride who said there were no good houses in the west.”

Fox recruited seven men to assist with the flag pole raising. “If it wants to fall, let it fall,” he told the men.

Fox was positioned in an upstairs window with a heavy rope that he pulled in as the pole went up.

“Walk it up,” Fox said. “Pull, pull, steady, steady, steady.”

And in a matter of moments it was up and in place.

Fox said he will have a flag ready to be flown when the building is dedicated by Mayor Steve Leonardis in August.

Leonardis was among the volunteers who helped with the flagpole raising, along with Garrett Painter, Wes Geiken, John Braham, Kevin Shelton, Zach Fox and Luis Villereal.

Villereal owns Wooden Expressions in Santa Cruz and spent five days restoring the approximately 100-year-old pole, which stood for years at Peter Olson’s home at Kimble and College avenues.

The pole is about 31 feet tall and weighs more than 300 pounds. It’s supported by four feet of heavy steel sunk in concrete and three feet of iron above ground.